SHOE JOURNAL

So I had this pair of high top red converse. If my memory serves me right I purchased them second-hand at a local garage sale, but nonetheless they were (and arguably still are) my favorite pair of shoes. They were the color of firetrucks, the soul worn slippery, tiny holes forming at the seams, the laces holding on by a thread, they were a prime adventure time shoe. After helping me climb numerous trees I had a moment of realization, it was time for these shoes to retire. I stood at the trash can in my kitchen, shoes in hand, unable to lift the lid to place them inside. I went to my mom in distress explaining my predicament. She allowed me to hang my chucks on a pipe in our basement, dangling along side our firetruck red boxing gloves (which probably have a similar background story to this here).

Why was it that I was having such a hard time pitching the shoes in the trash? They were just a pair of shoes after all! As I continued to ponder these questions I didn’t know a simple pair of shoes could bring forth, I realized it. When I stood in the kitchen fully knowing the shoes would no longer serve their purpose in my life, I couldn’t get myself to throw them away because I felt as if I was throwing away all the shoes contained: all the memories they helped create, all the scuffs and dirt marks each holding an adventure behind them. I didn’t want to throw away that. It just happened that the shoes were what I associated all of those memories with.

That’s when I got the idea: if our shoes could have a voice, oh the stories they would tell! Why not allow them to do so? Hense, this shoe journal.

This SHOE JOURNAL is dedicated to sharing the memories I’ve made with my first pair of hiking boots. The different places they’ve carried me. The sites they’ve walked and I’ve seen. Bringing the memories of my shoes to life through the sharing of my memories. That way when their time comes to retire them, I’m able to do so w/o feeling like I’m throwing these away: